EdTech: Changing the Future
July 20, 2021
This post was written by Sonya Harvey-Justiniano. Sonya is a blog editor with the Alhambra US Chamber.
On July 7, 2021, The Future Series hosted by Dr. Duleep Deosthale welcomed Dr. Muhammad M. Al-Saggaf, President of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) in Saudi Arabia as his guest. Dr. Al-Saggaf discussed the EdTech industry and the impact of KFUPM, highlighting its growing educational capacity globally and its impact on the future. Dr. Al-Saggaf has worked to prepare this 60 year-old university to be a driver of change and the role technology will play in the future.
When it comes to society’s role in technological advancement, one question is especially important to consider: Are we changing the future, or are we changing with the future? Dr. Al-Saggaf believes that universities should not simply respond to changes in society, but should instead be proactive in creating positive social change. His goal for KFUPM is to ensure students develop the skills necessary to create positive social change, especially in the field of technology.
Dr. Al-Saggaf believes that new technologies, like Artificial Intelligence (AI), will be key to shaping the future and wants KFUPM to increase its focus on AI for its undergraduate students, as it would open doors for other educational and professional opportunities. With the integration of technology into our everyday lives, there is an increasing need for people to have a basic understanding of programming, analytics, and even neural networks. In fact, some universities have already started incorporating AI-powered e-learning into their curriculum. Quantum computing and hydrogen mobility are just a few examples of cutting edge technology that Dr. Al-Saggaf is working to help his students learn about. Understanding advanced and everyday technologies will be crucial to actively participating in creating the future.
Technology has always been destined to play a significant role in the future of education, but the pandemic accelerated its implementation. At first, Dr. Al-Saggaf disliked the idea of online learning. From his personal experience with the transition to online learning prior to COVID-19, he found online learning was disorganized and confusing, affecting students’ academic performance and relationships with their peers and teachers. Students need more than just a device and Internet access; they need new skills and resources to navigate online learning, and without them technology has the potential to exacerbate existing inequalities. Digital skills are not as widespread or easy to obtain as we may think, which is one reason why many students who transitioned to online learning initially struggled. While young people tend to be more connected and engaged on the internet than older adults, they need to learn to simultaneously navigate online learning platforms, engage with teachers and peers virtually, and get used to learning outside of a classroom.
Before the pandemic, Dr. Al-Saggraf viewed online learning as inferior to in-person learning because in the former, the student-teacher connection is weakened, and having such a connection is valuable for effective teaching. Schools also serve important emotional and social needs, which do not translate easily in the online world. These are usually served by extracurricular activities and socialization with peers. Even though online meetings are more convenient and have given KFUPM the opportunity to develop new technological programs, they do not provide the same opportunity for human connection. Moving forward, KFUPM and other universities will need to seek new ways of fostering these social ties, to actively compensate for the disadvantages of technology rather than letting them simply happen.
Dr. Al-Saggraf attributes the success of online learning to its timing. When the transition to online learning at KFUPM was first started prior to COVID-19, it was rushed and forced. The unjustified transition created disagreements between students and the university. The COVID pandemic turned out to be the right time. This time, the university’s decision to transition into online learning was a necessary change, which led it to apply a better approach to online learning.
Dr. Al-Saggraf finally mentioned leading another gradual change in the KFUPM University. It will be the first large Saudi university that will allow both men and women to study together for the 2021/2022 academic year. Dr. Al-Saggraf sees this change as an inevitable and necessary process, because we cannot expect to build a good society while neglecting half of the population. Women are equally capable, and it is important to empower them by affording them equal educational opportunities as men. Saudi Arabia as a whole has also seen some improvement in women’s education. In 2015, 52 percent of all university graduates in the country were female. This is a step in the right direction, given Saudi Arabia’s unfortunate history in women’s education politics.
We should all consider whether we are playing an active or passive role in change, especially in the area of educational technology. While technology cannot replace the social and emotional aspects of learning, we cannot ignore the inevitable role it plays in shaping our society. Technology will continue to change our future, and if educational institutions do not make an effort to be a part of that change in some way, they will surely be left behind, causing their students to suffer as well. Dr. Al-Saggraf aims to prevent this from happening at KFUPM University by encouraging change within the university, while also enabling students to be the change they want to see in society.
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